Patent Document 1 discloses an optical assembly that is fitted to a ferrule attached to an end of an optical fiber. The optical assembly is configured to optically connect the optical fiber and a photoelectric conversion element. The photoelectric conversion element included in the optical assembly is mounted on a stem made of metal. Onto the stem, a cap shell that is made of metal and holds a lens is welded. The cap shell and the lens are fixed to each other with a sealing glass.
In the above-described configuration, the lens focuses optical output from the optical fiber onto the photoelectric conversion element. Further, the lens focuses optical output from the photoelectric conversion element onto the optical fiber. The photoelectric conversion element is electromagnetically shielded by the cap shell made of metal.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-192566
In the above-described configuration, however, both of the stem and the cap shell are made of metal so as to be connected to each other by welding. This may increase the production cost. In addition, the cap shell made of metal is connected to the lens with the sealing glass. This may also increase the production cost.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide an optical assembly that is produced at a reduced cost.
The present invention provides an optical assembly that includes a circuit board including an electrically conductive path formed by printed wiring technology, a photoelectric conversion element connected to the circuit board via the electrically conductive path, a shielding member made of metal, and a resin member made of light transmissive synthetic resin and attached to the circuit board. The shielding member is connected to the circuit board and arranged to cover the photoelectric conversion element. The resin member includes a sleeve into which a ferrule attached to an end of an optical fiber is inserted. The resin member integrally includes a lens through which an optical path passes. The optical path extends between the photoelectric conversion element. The shielding member includes a window through which the optical path extends to the photoelectric conversion element.
According to the present invention, the photoelectric conversion element is connected to the circuit board including the electrically conductive path formed by printed wiring technology. Accordingly, the cost is reduced compared with a case in which the photoelectric conversion element is connected to a metal stem.
The lens is integrally included in the resin member that is made of light transmissive synthetic resin and has the sleeve. In this configuration, a step of fixing a lens to a separate member that is made of a material different from the lens is not required. This reduces the production cost of the optical assembly.
According to the present invention, the production cost of the optical assembly can be reduced.